31.8.11

I made my first 3d printing models this summer. I thought it would be as easy as taking my 3d models I use for 2d digital art and converting the files, but in fact I had to rebuild from scratch, with special attention to hair and fingers and making everything perfectly symmetrical. The models then needed to be hollowed out and the walls given thickness. I was holding my breath when the package arrived from the printers – would they snap together as planned? Would they break? It came out perfectly. The figures snap together snugly, the fingers are strong and flexible enough to get a good grip, and the final statue sits flat.

Here's a few shots, with a coffee mug for scale. The sculpture is about 12 cm high.

13.8.11

I had a curve named for me! A big shout out to Will Webber of Bellingham, WA who parameterized one of my favorite shapes to doodle. I used to draw this freehand in my classes, and enjoyed exploring variations with number of loops and number of whorls. None of my sketches ever looked as good as Will's calculated version shown here. Thanks Will!

(Will is a master with parameterizing, you should see him in action as
he waves his hands back and forth, gets a feel for the separate x- and
y- motions, and then nails the equation. Inspiring!)